Wrist shot

[dc00 0]

I would appreciate it if anyone could advise on how to teach a mite to (1) add more power to his wrist shot , and (2) lift the puck. Do they have the strength to flex a stick at this age?

Would choosing the right stick help?

Thanks.

[mxihockey 0]

Just let the kid play, he will figure it out on his own.

[pantherfan 0]

Whippy stick is a must I would have thought, teach him to use the shaft and roll the puck off the blade when lifting it.

[DEATHTRON 19]

Probably get him a stick with some curve...and not to "whack" at the puck, to actually cradle the puck and put his body into it. His shot might get weaker...but in a few years it will get stronger, then he can start toying with the idea of opening the blade up for some lift.

(I agree just let the kid play though)

Zach

[theWB 2]

A couple things that I remember from my coaches on wrist shots-when you begin your shot, the puck should be at the heel of your stick and rotate out to the toe during the follow through. Also weight should be transfered from your back foot to the front foot. Don't lean back to try and lift the puck. Mite goalies dont cover very much net so lifting the puck with a wrist shot isn't really necessary and it will come with time because with time comes growth and strength. If he is in close and needs to lift it, teach him a little flip shot. Should be more that enough to beat a goalie at that age.

[Jordan 13]

Key points:

Balance and posture.

Most instructors teach kids to reach way back and then to pull through. The problem is that young kids have short and weak arms, they simply cannot do it the same way as we do it. When they try to reach way back, they bend at the waist and reach. This sacrifices balance. Without balance there is no power.

1) knees bent, feet shoulder width apart; an athletic ready stance

2) chin up, chest up...look at target

3) draw puck back no further than even with the back foot. Puck starts near the heel, no toe flips.

4) movement starts with the legs - have your son do a t-push towards the target

5) top hand leads the hand movement of the stick towards the target

6) make sure that he follows through. Once the top hand is extended forward, then the bottom hand is pushing while the top hand is pulling. The follow-through is what will generate most of the power at this age

7) make sure that he finishes with his blade rolled all of the way "closed" and eyes and stick pointing at the target

If he does it correctly, the blade will start closed (over the puck) open on the way through, and then finish closed at the end of the follow through.

Try it yourself first and it will make more sense than trying to picture it.

[bheidepr 0]

Youth size hockey stick. (they arent all made the same.)

I bought a net, blue pucks and one of those plastic sheets and it has drastically helped.

[Jordan 13]

dc00

make sure to let us know how you make out !

[dc00 0]

Thanks for all the input. Very helpful. Since no one mentioned it, I guess it's not needed to consciously try to flex the stick by putting weight on it. Correct?

I was thinking about buying a shooting pad for my son to practice at home, but don't think they are sold in LHS and the shipping cost is pretty high buying on the internet.

[SuperMan3 1]

How old is your son?

[Aussie Joe 0]

Teach him snap shots, wrist shots as well. A good snapper will help him when he wants to learn the slap shot.

Balance is important, but also, at a small age being able to "shovel" the puck is handy as well. Most young kids I see/coach get some nifty goals from being able to shovel the puck.

There's some good info on the IIHF site as well... IIHF Lvl 1 Book - Learning how to Shoot

[Jordan 13]

Since no one mentioned it, I guess it's not needed to consciously try to flex the stick by putting weight on it. Correct?

Correct.

As for a "shooting pad", any type of hard plastic sheet will do. you could probably find one of those carpet protectors that go under office chairs at an office supply store. should be pretty cheap.

[dc00 0]

My son is 6. He's a good skater for his age but has trouble scoring. I want to help but I never played hockey in my life.

[Chadd 916]

get him a private lesson with a local instructor. Learning proper technique will help more than anything.

[Jordan 13]

If he can learn to raise the puck, the entire top half of the net is open with kids this age. Agree with the lessons, sometimes a private lesson can give your son a few tools he can go to when he gets the chance.

Also, get him to play shinny as often as possible. At this age a lot of it is just experience, and the more he gets the better he will get.

[dc00 0]

He's on ice a lot but doesn't have many opportunities to practice shooting. He gets two 45-minute private lessons per week, with the main focus still on skating. He'll start playing in two house leagues. I hope he'll be ready as he'll probably be the youngest.

[Jordan 13]

Where are you located DC00 ?

[dc00 0]

New Jersey.

[Jordan 13]

Oh. If you were from the same area as me, I had someone to recommend who has a shooting school.

Good luck, and have fun with your little guy this season!

[dc00 0]

Thanks. We have quite limited options/resources here.

[dc00 0]

After a few private lessons and many practices on the driveway, my son can get the puck up, sometimes. Roughly out of 10 shots, 5 are still down, 4 about 1 foot off ice, and 1 reaching upper half of the net. These are not flip shots which he does have. All these shots have some velocity. He's been like this for a while now. Guess we just have to be patient and keep working on it.

The stick is already the softest I can find. It's a Sher-wood RM9 Youth, with a flex of 30. But we had to cut it short so it must be a lot stiffer than that. Are there any softer sticks available? My son is 3'9", 45 lbs.

[Rustpot 1]

Go to wood. $20 for a youth wood stick, get two and play with the curve. When I started playing going from a mid to a heel did wonders for control on my shots.

RM9 has what curve? He's obviously more advanced than a straight stick, but if there's only one option it wouldn't hurt to change things up.

Best of luck, and more time on the ice the better he'll get! Kids also have trouble developing muscle memory, so don't feel his progress is too slow. Any progress is great, as long as it's not years between stumbles and strides.

[Chadd 916]

Go to wood. $20 for a youth wood stick, get two and play with the curve. When I started playing going from a mid to a heel did wonders for control on my shots.

RM9 has what curve? He's obviously more advanced than a straight stick, but if there's only one option it wouldn't hurt to change things up.

Best of luck, and more time on the ice the better he'll get! Kids also have trouble developing muscle memory, so don't feel his progress is too slow. Any progress is great, as long as it's not years between stumbles and strides.

Youth composite sticks generally have more whip than wood sticks. Practice is the way to go at this point. Nothing is automatic, it just takes time.

[Jordan 13]

I would try a junior stick over a youth. Although the flex is a little softer on the youth, I think that they can turn the blade over better with a slightly thicker shaft. Also there are many more curves available in the junior models.

Here is a link to a good video lesson on the wrist shot:

proshooters

Glad to hear that you are having some success! Keep up the good work!

[dc00 0]

Thanks. As I mentioned, I don't know much about hockey. Here's a very silly question -

When people say "open the blade", does it mean (1) rotating the blade away from you, similar to openning the club face in golf, or (2) pointing the blade up towards the sky, like adding loft in golf?

To be honest, I have no clue about choosing a blade pattern. But I guess that's not something easy to explain. I'll search for an answer on the web first.